During WWII, Japan seized part of the islands which today forms Republic of Kiribati, to form part of their island defenses. The Japanese worked intensely for nearly a year to fortify the island. A series of fourteen coastal defense guns, including four large Vickers 8-inch guns purchased during the Russo-Japanese War from the British, were secured in concrete bunkers and located around the island. The island had a total of 500 pillboxes or "stockades" built from logs and sand, many of which were reinforced with cement. Forty artillery pieces were scattered around the island in various reinforced firing pits.
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